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DB9S.com
DB9 Upgraded front brakes

DB9 Upgraded Brakes

Posted on February 8, 2022January 19, 2025 by Paul

DB9 Upgraded Brakes. The Aston Martin DB9 brakes are, I believe, marginal. Exactly the same brakes are used on the V8 Vantage with much less power and weight. My DB9 brakes did not feel at all reassuring, braking from high speeds.

The standard setup consists of 355 * 32mm one piece front discs with Brembo 4 piston callipers and the rear has one piece 330 * 28mm discs with smaller 4 Piston Brembo callipers, the rears have a small separate handbrake calliper.

The V8 Vantage S has a 2 piece 380mm Front disc with a 6 pot calliper but with different spacing and a different knuckle, specific to the V8S, to upgrade these brakes would need a different system, with just a spacer bar.

DB9 Upgraded Front Brakes

To upgrade the front brakes, I used 410 * 35mm discs with an alloy bell and the callipers from an Aston Martin DBS, these are 6 piston monobloc callipers and are attached by using the same bracket as the DBS/Virage/Vantage V12 uses (the DBS/Virage have Carbon ceramic brakes of 398mm front and 360mm rear diameter.

Aston Martin DB9 Upgraded disc comparison
Aston Martin DB9 Upgraded disc comparison

Two piece discs have a number of advantages over single piece discs, reduced weight, better heat dissipation, less risk of warping and better airflow. The larger area and greater diameter also increase stopping power with less risk of fading.

DBS front caliper bracket attached
DBS front calliper bracket attached

These brackets are easily available or could be made quite simply, the same brake hose can be used. The bracket just bolts on where the the calliper bolted on and the calliper bolts onto the bracket.

The callipers and pads are substantially larger than the original DB9 callipers

DBS 6 piston to DB9 4 piston calipers compared
DBS 6 piston to DB9 4 piston calipers compared
DBS to DB9 front brake pad size comparison
DBS to DB9 front brake pad size comparison
DB9 upgraded front brakes
DB9 upgraded front brakes

DB9 Upgraded Rear Brakes

Upgraded DB9 Rear brakes
Upgraded DB9 Rear brakes

DB9 Upgraded rear Brakes (updated), when I upgraded my Front Brakes to 410mm Two piece discs and DBS 6 Pot callipers I also upgraded the rears to maintain the braking balance. The stock rear brakes are 330mm diameter single piece discs with a 4 pot Caliper and separate handbrake caliper.

The issue with upgrading the rear brakes is the caliper brackets to fit larger discs, The DBS has 360mm discs with a bracket for the main caliper and different handbrake calipers.

I opted to go for 380mm 2 part discs, this meant modifying the main caliper bracket and creating handbrake brackets.

Originally I welded 10 mm bobbins onto the main caliper and produced the handbrake caliper by grinding 2 10mm thick steel plates to fit and then welding them together but I always wanted to mill them out of aluminium alloy billet which I have now done using CNC.

Main Caliper Bracket

DB9 Rear caliper bracket
DB9 Rear caliper bracket

The main caliper is milled from 30mm billet Aluminium, it has a slightly wider web than the original steel bracket to maintain the rigidity of the Caliper.

Handbrake Caliper Bracket

DB9 Handbrake Caliper bracket
DB9 Handbrake Calliper bracket
Upgraded DB9 handbrake Caliper Bracket
Upgraded handbrake Calliper Bracket

Than handbrake calliper is milled from a 20mm billet of aluminium Alloy

Both Brackets are anodised to prevent corrosion. They are both better fitting and look better and more professional than the original brackets (which did perform perfectly though)

DB9 Upgraded Rear Brake Brackets
DB9 Upgraded Rear Brake Brackets
Aston Martin DB9 Rear Hub with handbrake bracket attached
Aston Martin DB9 Rear Hub with handbrake bracket attached
DB9 Rear Brake Upgraded Caliper Brackets
DB9 Rear Brake Upgraded Caliper Brackets
DB9S  Upgraded rear Brakes
DB9S Upgraded rear Brakes
DB9S Upgraded front Brakes
DB9S Upgraded front Brakes

Upgraded Front Brakes

DB9 upgraded rear brakes
DB9 upgraded rear brakes
DB9 Upgraded rear Brakes
DB9 Upgraded rear Brakes

Improvements

The DB9 Upgraded Brakes have resulted in far more bite, better feel and a huge improvement in stopping power. My Aston has 20″ DBS wheels and I don’t think these brakes would fit behind the standard 19″ wheels on a DB9 . The total weight of the brakes has gone up by just a few hundred grammes due to the alloy bells and as the rotors can be changed without changing the bells it makes it cheaper to change the discs.

DB9S brakes
DB9S brakes

I also think that the brakes look far better than the standard items.

Useful Links

  • Discs and front pads are from Gary Penhall
  • Brake service by Aston 1936
  • Chassis Upgrades



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4 thoughts on “DB9 Upgraded Brakes”

  1. Jon Davies says:
    May 6, 2025 at 9:16 pm

    Hi, love the write-up! I’m just about ready to do the same conversion on my DB9, but I’m really struggling to find the correct front brake pads – are you using the pads for a carbon disc, or did you find an alternative solution?
    Cheers.

    Reply
    1. Paul says:
      May 11, 2025 at 6:08 am

      I got my pads from AMS Edition, they are OK but not much bite so I’ll be looking to replace them with something else soon too.

      Reply
  2. Jon Davies says:
    May 15, 2025 at 12:03 pm

    Thanks, appreciate you getting back to me.
    The car looks great by the way!

    Reply
    1. Paul says:
      May 16, 2025 at 9:06 pm

      Thank you

      Reply

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